The Story of Stripe 4
by allthestripes
Summary: Tweek awakens one morning to some sad news: Stripe 3 has died. His mission now is to cheer Craig up, and he has an idea on how to do just that.


Tweek knew something was wrong the moment he woke up. It was early, the ten-year-old having woken before dawn, as usual. But something felt off about this new day.

He grabbed his phone from the nightstand, clicking the button to turn the screen on. Waiting for him, he found seven missed calls in the span of two minutes, and about fifty texts, all from his boyfriend. Checking the time stamps and seeing they had come in just a few minutes ago, he swiped to call back, not taking the time to read the waiting messages. Craig didn't spam his phone, ever. Craig didn't call.

Whatever had happened, it was bad.

The phone was answered before the first ring finished. Tweek waited for Craig to speak, but all he heard were stuttered breaths and an occasional sniff. Finally, he decided to talk, figuring something was keeping Craig from doing it.

"Craig?" he asked. "What's going on?"

" _... It's Stripe. He..._ " The boy cleared his throat, and he let out a soft sob. " _He died._ "

Tweek's body went cold, and his heart plummeted. "Oh, God, Craig, I'm so sorry," he murmured gently. Stripe was basically Craig's entire world. The little guinea pig was one of the few things that could make Craig smile just by being mentioned. He loved him deeply, and he always took the deaths of his pets hard as the boy considered them to practically be his children.

Not caring about the time, Tweek got out of bed and got dressed. He headed immediately to the Tucker residence, entering the house with the spare key Craig had given him for emergencies. Of course, since he had never specified what _kind_ of emergency, Tweek pretty much used it whenever he wanted, claiming the emergency was the need to see Craig's face. If nothing else, it helped him break his shyness of just going in.

He ran upstairs, bursting into Craig's room. He found the other sitting on the floor against his bed, cradling a tiny body in his hands. Craig didn't so much a flinch when Tweek entered, his eyes locked on Stripe. Tweek crossed the room and slid down beside him, unsure what to do. Craig was pretty good at helping him feel better, but not a whole lot upset Craig, meaning Tweek didn't have nearly as much practice as he did.

What kind of comfort worked for Craig? Did he need a hug? Words? Would just Tweek being there help? What if Craig hadn't wanted him to actually come over, he had just needed to tell someone? He shook the thought away, recalling the sound of his boyfriend's voice. That was not the sound of someone who wanted to be alone.

They sat together in silence until Tweek built his courage enough to slowly put his arm around him and pull Craig to his side. "I'm... sorry, Craig. I know how much you loved Stripe," he finally said. He knew it wasn't enough, but it was all he could think to say. What could he do to possibly make this better?

Craig looked at him for the first time, his eyes red and bloodshot. He rubbed his sleeve across his face, smearing tears and snot onto the blue material. "Thanks for coming over so quick," he said, his voice horse and shaky. "It means a lot to me."

Quiet fell over the pair again, but Tweek didn't let it stretch, standing up and helping Craig get to his feet. "We should bury him," he murmured. He didn't know if he was moving too fast, and he hoped Craig knew he could say no. He'd never had a pet die before. Sure, he had that bird, but he honestly couldn't even remember it's name half the time, and the rest was filled with terrible bird-screaming.

He was a bit surprised that Craig nodded in response, but they joined hands and Tweek led the way downstairs and out into the backyard. He left Craig to grab and shovel and started to dig. He wasn't very fast, especially since the ground was extremely hard thanks to the ice and snow, but it gave Craig time to wrap Stripe up in a tiny blanket and place him in an old shoe box.

As the sun began to rise, Tweek finished his digging, satisfied with the decently sized hole. Craig approached and knelt, sliding the box into place. Together they pushed the dirt back over the spot, patting it down. Craig decorated the spot with Stripe's favorite toy: a little ball with a bell inside that jingled when it rolled. Yes, it was technically a cat toy, but Stripe had loved it and that was all that had mattered to Craig.

They got up and stared at the spot for a few more moments before Craig broke the silence.

"Stripe," he said, his voice cracking, "you were a great pet. You were cute and fun, and you liked Tweek almost as much as me. You bit Clyde that one time, which was funny, and you always cheered me up when I was sad. I'm going to miss you. A lot. But, I'm glad you're in guinea pig heaven, and you can meet Stripe One and Stripe Two." Craig rubbed his eyes one last time. "I love you, buddy."

He turned and went back into the house, and Tweek knew if he had stayed a moment longer, he would have cried again. He followed him, finding Craig sitting at the table in his dining room. It was Saturday morning now, and Tweek was glad for it, as it meant that they had the entire weekend to get Craig feeling better.

He climbed into the seat next to him, taking his hand. "That was a good speech, Craig," he told him. "I'm sure Stripe liked it."

"Me too."

Laura Tucker came downstairs half an hour later to find the pair. Tweek arriving at odd hours had quickly become the norm for the household, and she thought nothing of it, greeting the pair as she went into the kitchen. "Want breakfast, boys?" she asked.

"Tweek does," Craig answered flatly, making the blonde blush.

"No, I'm okay," he said, but the woman was already getting out pancake batter.

Resigned to the unexpected breakfast, Tweek sat back in his chair, letting his gaze return to his boyfriend. He waited for Laura to say something about Craig's distress, but the comment never came. He glanced between the mother and son in confusion, wondering how she could possibly be missing his devastation.

When the food was ready, she put a plate in front of each of them. They had a small stack of pancakes with powdered sugar and drizzled in syrup. As they ate, she gave Craig a glass of orange juice, and Tweek a mug of coffee. They thanked her and ate quickly, then escaped up to Craig's room.

Once back in his safe haven, Craig collapsed on his bed, laying against his pillows and staring out his window at the brightening sky. He didn't seem like he was going to start moving anytime soon, and Tweek took the liberty of cleaning out Stripe's cage. He didn't know when, if ever, Craig would want to do it, but it needed cleaning, and he'd be damned if he left Craig in such a delicate state to do the job.

Finishing quickly, as Craig was very good about keeping Stripe's cage tidy, Tweek took out his phone and started scrolling. He knew this would likely be too much too fast, but it was all he could think of, so it was worth a shot. Finding what he was searching for, he walked over to the bed and pulled on Craig's arm until he rolled over to face him.

"Get up," he told him.

Craig blinked and Tweek could see how tired he was. Craig wasn't used to missing sleep like he was. Well, maybe that could work to his advantage here. He poked and prodded until Craig was sitting up, then he grabbed his hand and dragged the taller boy out of the room. Laura had left for work already, and Thomas wasn't awake yet, so there was no one to question them on where they were going.

The boys' first stop was Tweek's house. Parking Craig in the living room, both his parents already gone to open the coffee shop, Tweek went up to his room and grabbed a twenty dollar bill out of his bank. He had no idea how much this could cost him, but figured twenty was a good ball park. Going back, he captured Craig's hand again and led him towards the main street of their town.

Craig didn't pay attention to any of their surroundings as they traveled, his eyes glued to the pavement under his feet. Tweek was glad he wasn't crying any longer, but wished he would say something. Then again, beggars couldn't be choosers, so he settled with what he got.

Arriving at their destination, Tweek pushed the door open, and the soft ringing of the bell above the door got Craig to shift. However, it was the distinct smell that really caught his attention as they entered. His head snapped up and his eyes widened when he found himself in a pet shop.

Tweek watched him, ready to turn around and leave if it was what Craig wanted to do. The other didn't turn immediately to the door as Tweek had suspected he might. Rather, he walked further in, heading to the one section Tweek always saw him go.

The guinea pigs.

He followed silently, letting Craig do whatever he wanted, still unsure if this had been a good idea. As they neared the cage, the sleepy squeaks of the little animals nearly melted Tweek's soul. He could definitely see why Craig loved them so much; they were extremely cute. In his distraction, he hadn't noticed Craig stop moving, and he bumped into the other and bounced back a step with a grunt.

Looking at his boyfriend, he found wide eyes that sparkled with love as Craig stared at a single guinea pig. Turning to the cage, Tweek saw the tiny brown and white fur pile laying in the corner. It was asleep still, unlike it's cage mates, who were wandering around to eat, drink, and socialize. The sign beside the cage welcomed people to pick the animals up, only cautioning they be careful not to hurt them.

Without hesitation, Tweek reached into the cage and gently scooped the little lump into his his hands, bringing it out of the cage. It's beady little eyes opened and glanced between the pair before Tweek slipped it into Craig's hands. Instantly, the guinea pig yawned and snuggled down, dropping right back off to sleep.

In that moment, Tweek knew this needed to be Craig's new Stripe. He walked to the front counter, Craig trailing slightly behind him, still enthralled by the fuzzy critter. The man behind the counter seemed bored out of his mind, not even bothering to sit up when Tweek told him they were buying the guinea pig.

"Fifteen bucks," he said, and groaned when Tweek handed him the twenty. As he dragged himself to the register to print the receipt and get Tweek's change, Tweek felt Craig leaning against his back, the other boy's forehead pressed against the middle of his shoulders.

"Thank you, babe. This... This means everything to me," he whispered.

Tweek smiled but didn't move, not wanting to unbalance Craig and make him fall. "You're welcome, Craig. I hope I haven't been pushy today. I just want to help, and this was the best way I could think of."

"It's exactly what I needed."

Getting his money, Tweek also bought a new food dish, knowing Craig didn't like to reuse them. He always customized each with the the name of its owner, and this one would be no acceptation.

They left the store holding hands, the new pet in Craig's jacket pocket, burrowed into the fluff to keep warm.

"I think I already know, but I'm going to ask anyway," Tweek said as they walked. "What's this one's name?"

Craig looked at his pocket and smiled, then turned to meet the blonde's eyes.

"Stripe Four."

* * *

 **This idea was requested to me by Tweek Tweak360. I hope it's what you wanted!**


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